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Registered nurses at The Queen’s Medical Center-Wahiawa have a new contract with their employer.

The contract, which was ratified unanimously, went into effect Aug. 16 and covers 26 nurses at the Wahiawa facility.

According to Hawaii Nurses’ Association OPEIU Local 50, the prior contract for nurses there was terminated following The Queen’s Health Systems’ acquisition of Wahiawa General Hospital in April 2024. The union had been asking Queen’s for a new contract in order to stabilize the workforce, seeking wages and benefits for Wahiawa nurses that were equal to their counterparts at other Queen’s facilities on Oahu.

“This is a landmark victory that was made possible by the unwavering support and active mobilization of the local community,” HNA President Rosalee Agas-Yuu said in a news release. “Securing the new contract was a long, hard-won battle and showed the power of the community’s collective voice. The community rallied together to fight the inequitable treatment of the registered nurses to help with recruitment and to stem the high turnover of nurses who were seeking other jobs at Queen’s facilities.”

Over the summer, the union held a rally and delivered a petition to Queen’s chief people strategy officer noting the hospital was struggling to fill critical vacancies.

As part of the new contract, HNA said nurses working in Central Oahu will get the same wage and health benefits as nurses working at Queen’s main facilities, along with guidelines on “safer staffing.”

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Under the new contract, nurses will see lower health insurance premiums, with no premiums entirely for single coverage and families saving approximately $120 per month. The agreement also requires tracking of National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators and full autonomy for the charge nurse to adjust unit staffing and skill mix based on patient acuity.